52min.~10km - Sunday, January 29 2006

7 of us ran the Richmond ditch/dyke route after lunch today (powered by Pho). 10km in just over 50min. pretty nasty weather for it too; rain (at times heavy), hard gravel (tried to run on the grass as much as possible), and a pesky headwind on the way back after the 5km turnaround point. all in all though, pretty good run. i just hope i don't get sick tomorrow. O_o

dinner & dissonance - Tuesday, January 31 2006

omg, that was a close one. witnessed some horrendous old chinaman karaoke/dancing/performing @ this restaurant in Richmond tonight. why Mr. Fung chose this venue, i'm not totally sure, but something tells me perhaps he misses HK a little too much already. well ok, so in truth his friend's family owns the place so that's why, and we were in our own little area, boxed away from the "festivities", but man oh man, even from the parking lot before i got inside; when i heard harsh oriental harmonies being belted out over a system, i couldn't help cracking up and wondering who was on stage. to my relief, it wasn't anyone i knew. i'd have had to shoot them. i just threw a dumpling at the guy on the keyboard.

i wish... - Tuesday, February 7 2006

wow, during dinner i caught a bit of some documentary about this biologist & his team doing field research on black sea turtles. i'm looking at what these guys do for "work": go to exotic beaches, chill on a boat, hang out in flip flops/swimming trunks all day, go scuba diving??? dang...i really should've paid more attention during Bio class.

Now Playing... - Thursday, February 9 2006

the new Curious George movie comes out in theatres tomorrow. although i totally hold the dude in the highest regard (i consider him one of my role models!), i'm still prepared to be disappointed by the film. the drawings first of all; retro CG kicks ass. i'm not sure why they thought he needed a new "look", but it just doesn't work for me. nyeh...what can you do?

now aside from the fact that we both love climbing trees, i must admit that George & I have quite a bit more in common than i thought:












(click the pic to get the full story)

Friday, January 27 2006

mailed out a birthday card to my sponsor kid in Uganda this morning on my way to work. his 14th birthday's coming up on February 8th, so hopefully it gets there in time.

speaking of birthdays, it's someone else's birthday today too.

went to chill @ the alibi room tonight since Mr. Fung's back in town from HK for Chinese NY...wow, can't believe it's already been a year since that trip. time for another one please. i just might get the chance too; my JET interview's set for Feb. 22nd. coincidentally, that's the same date i have to go settle something in court. good thing the interview's in the morning & court's in the afternoon. at first i was pissed, but actually it just means i only have to take one day off of work instead of two, so it works out. plus, since i'll be wearing a *gasp* suit & tie to my interview, i might as well leave it on for the judge. wonderful. i think they'd take me more seriously in a suit rather than in my regular apparel.

Chinese New Year is here. uncle just got in from HK this morning for dinner @ my grandparent's place tonight. should be good.

hmmm...come to think of it, i never did finish my HK Journals did i? left off on Day XXI or something like that i think...so i guess i should finish that off some time soon since it's been a year. but not now. i am hungry. let me go into the bamboo jungle and find some food to eat:






i leave you with "The One I Love" by R.E.M.

it's Friday the 13th!!! - Friday, January 13 2006

(posted Sunday, January 22 2006. yes, i'm a little bit tardy...)

for whatever reason, people in the office had a few brief moments of TV Show Nostalgia today. more specifically, kids TV shows. some of the shows mentioned:

-Today's Special
-Mr. Dress-up (someone thought he was still putting out new episodes?! RIP mr. coombs)
-the Polka Dot Door
-the Friendly Giant
-and last but not least...Sesame Street

Curious George should've been right up there too, but the little dude's name didn't come up.

(*warning: contemplation ahead)

work's been steadily busy since term startup...i'll leave it at that. i could go into describing all the large and little things that make it ugly, but that'd be boring. basically, the more i'm here, the more i feel like i'm meant to do something so much......"more". not saying that this csr/registration stuff is so 'below' me or anything, no. i respect the people that do this work and acknowledge their importance, but i think i'm finally starting to understand that all the education/experiences/trials i've gone through have been preparing me for a career that should be a little.....different. i see all the posts i've held here @ BCIT as valuable training, a place for me to earn my "boy scout badge" in administrative skills...(and for that i'm thankful)...but i know there's gotta be something more.

i think i can actually feel my brain rotting away sometimes...even amidst the multi-tasking (getting calls, collecting fees, managing waitlists, registering apprentices, advising students, etc.)...it gets mundane. i look back to even just a year ago when i thought to myself: "hey, this aint so bad, i could do this for a while: just turn my brain off @ work, collect decent pay, as long as i have enough time to do what i like in my off-time it's all good...". i reasoned that as long as the job was "bearable", funded my hobbies/pursuits, that would be good enough. well, it hasn't even been a full year yet and already i'm here whining about wanting more. part of the problem lies in the fact that it is just that: a job. a job is not a career. i need something that requires more creativity. imagination.

considering i spend 40 out of about 80 waking hours from Monday to Friday here; that really doesn't leave enough time outside of work to do what i really enjoy doing. sure, i know i won't be able to have a career as a musician (too lazy), a movie star (too ugly/short), a cook (i'd eat all my ingredients), or even a triathlete (have you ever SEEN a chinese triathlete?)...but my point is, i need to be doing something i'm passionate about. something i really like. yes, i know i should've figured this out way back when...but i was immature, flippant, and was too busy having what i called 'fun'. where am i going with this?? not sure...i'm thinking i might be looking at some more schooling. not necessarily post-grad studies, but something more along the lines of developing the interests/skills that i already have; refining them from raw talents/interests into tools that are marketable and usable in the working world. whether it'd be taking my tourism/marketing diploma to the next level and working towards becoming some sort of travel sales/writer/promoter, or pursuing my interests in education/counselling either at home or abroad, whatever it is, i know i'd better do it soon. i still have a hard time remembering that there are many people out there who are willing to open doors for me just b/c i have this piece of *&#! from UW...but i guess it makes sense. i mean, if i was standing in front of a door, face-to-face with someone holding a big, expensive, reeking piece of nauseating bloody academic $#!*...i'd open the door and shove him through as quickly as possible too.

(ok, now i'm just ranting)

i know i don't think i deserve a 'dream' job. in fact, i think one could say i'd been a bit of a fool and squandered a lot of opportunities for success. if i'd only been a bit more serious, less careless and short-sighted, i might've saved myself a lot of time. but then i wouldn't be me. =P

alright, enough of this sh*t. here's some overdue clips from the Holidays:

my 2 cousins:

(i hope raph didn't buy us socks again...)


well, almost. this guy looks like he was made out of last year's socks

it was a very "Paul Frank" Christmas this year:


grandma was so amused by pink "Julius"

(so this is what passes as "cute" nowadays??)


me n mui:

(this shirt is for all those who say we don't look related)





coming up next...

Happy Chinese New Year!

*random: i spend a lot of my day sifting through lots of names, and one looked kinda cool: Broc. for a second...i thought

"what if i named my kid that? that's a pretty cool name: Broc. sounds rugged."

then i thought about it a little more...

"Broc. Lee. Broc Lee?? o dear god! my poor offspring..."

back to the drawing board. O_o

quick! before it's too late and i forget:

Remembering 2005 - New beginnings...

first off...the "curse" is gone! i didn't mention it earlier (didn't want to jinx myself before 2005 was officially done with), but now that we've moved on to 2006 for real, i can breathe a sigh of relief. after a very peculiar string of annual accidents:

2002: winter motorcycle accident/brain injury/amnesia
2003: some dude driving a huge truck has a heart attack while driving, resulting in a nasty head-on collision (with me of course)
2004: some idiot T-bones me with his car as i'm biking across the street in 'Loo in front of the HMV, sends me flying off my 2-wheeler yet again

...2005 was finally the year in which nothing happened! of course i don't mean that literally, just in the sense that nothing particularly bizarre/disastrous happened. that's not to say 2005 wasn't a year in which nothing was accomplished or enjoyed though. here's what comes to mind off the top of my head...

-return to Vancouver (December 23, 2004)
-BDB got "lost" on Cypress Mountain while snowboarding (January)
-HK/China trip (February 3 - March 1)
-redeemed my free HMY trip for a visit to 'Loo (March 28 - April 3)
-VanTat expo, finished Stages 4 through 10
-entered into the world of Triathlon, and finished my first one on September 10 (alive)
-continued bouncing my way through BCIT - including stints in Student Records, the School of Construction & Apprentice Services
-3rd place finish in Tier I of the Pacific Christian Volleyball League (Team VCBC)
-3 weddings, 1 funeral
-finally got that damn degree in the mail
-started helping out w/ Elim Fellowship Youth group (Grades 6 & 7)
-applied for JET, received notification of interview coming up in February 2006

last but not least, just as the year came to a close, the flood of good news just kept pouring in. not 2, not 3, but 4 engagements snuck themselves in during the last 60 days of the year. three friends from 'Loo, and one of my oldest buddies from back in grade school have all officially taken themselves off the market. two of them even proposed on the same day too! craziness.

holiday pics/highlights are on their way, but for now...





the future awaits.




shall we?








*p.s. aside from New Beginnings, i have a feeling this year will also be filled with something else: giant fruit.




don't say i didn't warn you.

although the time passes, and wounds have softened,
those gone before us, will never be forgotten.

RIP Trey
01/01/2005